Kurt Busiek, the writer behind the recent series Marvels (which featured wonderful painted art by Alex Ross) is the driving force behind this series. Astro City is a Metropolis-like place, with a myriad of heroes who do typical superhero things. The difference in this series, according to the numerous interviews with Busiek which prefaced the book's premiere, is that it will explore the personalities of the heroes and why they are who they are; the heroics and adventures are intended to be peripheral, or at least subsidiary.

The first issue (and only one published as I write this) focuses on the Superman equivalent in Astro City: The Samaritan. Like Miracleman, The Samaritan dreams of flying, and he can fly; but only to go from one job to another. He spends all day flying across the globe (in the space of seconds) saving lives and doing good deeds, with barely enough time to sleep or to cover for his secret identity (which he maintains to have access to the company's computers). The next five issues will examine five other Astro City heroes, and then Busiek will write a six-part story, involving an alien invasion.

With pleasant art by Brent Anderson, Astro City clearly has a lot of background and thought put into it. While it may not become a classic of the genre, it should be different and interesting.

Several years ago, Busiek and Ross produced the outstanding series Marvels, which re-told early Marvel superhero stories through the eyes of an average photographer for the Daily Bugle, and which sported Ross' eye-popping painted artwork, which raised the painted comics medium to a new level. These two joined up with penciller Brent Anderson for Astro City, which is dedicated to a similar concept: The exploration of an intricate superhero universe through the eyes of its everyday citizens. (It's not painted, Ross' main contribution involves costume and scenery designs.)

The Life In The Big City paperback collects the first six-issue series, and gives the reader an appreciation for the breadth and depth of the universe the trio has created. The first story follows Astro City's Superman-analogue, The Samaritan, through his typical day of saving lives and trying to spend a little time flying just to enjoy the experience. Other tales include an alien observer cataloguing the activities of the city's superhuman denizens, and a small-time hood's discovery of a superhero's secret identity and his mental gymnastics as he tries to decide what to do with the information. The book culminates in an issue in which The Samaritan goes on a date with the leading superheroine of the city, Winged Victory, as all the other heroes work double-duty to keep things quiet so they can enjoy the experience - an experience which proves to be an exploration of why they each do what they do, and what they've given up to do it.

The second series kicks off with a man who's moved to Astro City with his kids following a divorce, as he tries to decide whether this is really a good place for them to grow up. Then thereUs a two-part story about the youngest member of the First Family, who decides sheUs tired of being sheltered by her parents, and runs away for a few days to experience life with normal kids and have her own adventure at an elementary school. The fourth and most recent issue begins another two-parter about a teenager to comes to the city looking for something to do with his life, and apparently will soon find himself in the role of "kid sidekick" to a rather odd-looking hero named The Confessor.

Astro City approaches its subject matter quietly, and focuses only the odd panel or two on the battles between heroes and villains; the real focus is on what the inhabitants of the city think and feel about life in their world, with the added thrill of seeing the intricacies of Busiek's world slowly reveal themselves to the reader. Anderson's art is a lovely complement to the writing. It's well worth reading.